Published 4:00 am, Friday, February 7, 2014

Clare led 20-6 after one quarter and 40-8 at halftime. Winter played only until midway through the third quarter.

“They shot the lights out,” Meridian coach Eric Kern said of the Pioneers. “We got a little off-balance defensively, and they got some easy buckets, but they’re good. They’re just a great ball team. There’s not much else you can say.”

Blake Garner led the Mustangs with nine points, nine rebounds, and two blocks, Morgan VanDevelde scored six points, and Jillian Brady added four rebounds.

“There were some positives,” Kern noted. “We didn’t quit. Our bench was still cheering for our girls that were out on the floor (late in the game). Those are some positives that we’ll take into next week.”

Clare won the junior varsity game 54-26. Sierra Sturgeon led Meridian with eight points.

Beaverton 70,

Roscommon 31

BEAVERTON — On the strength of a career-high 28 points from Jasmyn Parker-Urban, Beaverton picked up a 70-31 Jack Pine Conference girls’ basketball win over Roscommon on Thursday.

Parker-Urban had five steals and was 9 of 11 at the free-throw line.

Janae Wolfe had 15 points and 12 rebounds and was 6 of 7 in free-throw shooting. Emilee Grove added 10 points for the Beavers.

Beaverton (11-3, 8-3 JPC) hosts Kingsley on Saturday.

The Bucks won the junior varsity game.

Gladwin 54,

Houghton Lake 33

GLADWIN — Skylar Howard had 13 points, 16 rebounds, and four assists Thursday to lead Gladwin to a 54-33 victory over Houghton Lake in Jack Pine Conference girls’ basketball.

“She’s more concerned about boards than about scoring,” Gladwin coach Emily Coté said of Howard’s dedication to rebounding. “She battles those boards like no other. And she played probably (only) half the game.”

Rachel Dupre added nine points for the Flying G’s, while Ali Taylor had eight points and five assists, Carley Coté had seven rebounds, Madison Howard pulled down six rebounds, and Lauren Mose made three steals.

Gladwin is 14-4 overall and 10-2 in the Jack Pine, trailing only Clare (12-0 Jack Pine). Gladwin’s only remaining games in the regular season are next Thursday at Harrison and the following Thursday at home with Beaverton.

The Flying G’s won the junior varsity game 51-16.

Sacred Heart 65,

Coleman 35

MOUNT PLEASANT — Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart built a big early lead and went on to beat visiting Coleman 65-35 in Mid-State Activities Conference girls’ basketball on Thursday.

The Irish led 20-3 after one quarter, then outscored the Comets 18-7 in the second to take a 38-10 advantage into halftime.

“They just put a lot of pressure on our guards, and we couldn’t handle it, and we turned the ball over (in the first half),” said Comets’ coach Mike Baker. “ ... In the second half, we came out and played some pretty decent ball.”

Coleman won the junior varsity game 37-23 behind 14 points from Carley Starnes.

St. Charles 51,

Breckenridge 41

ST. CHARLES — Breckenridge rallied from an early double-digit deficit Thursday, but St. Charles finished stronger in the second half, pulling away for a 51-41 win over the visiting Huskies in Tri-Valley Conference West girls’ basketball.

The Bulldogs led 13-1 after one quarter before Breckenridge outscored St. Charles 19-11 in the second to cut the deficit to 24-20 at halftime.

St. Charles then had an 11-6 edge in the third to make it 35-26 before outscoring the Huskies 16-15 in the fourth to seal it.

“St. Charles is a tough team, and we knew it would be physical. We had two starters out, and so we had to have other people find their roles, and tonight it took them a little too long to find their roles,” said Breckenridge coach Lacie Shelley, whose Huskies were without Madysen Stoneman and Emily Chapin due to injury and illness.

“ ... It was a game of waves,” Shelley added. “We’d find our groove and then take a step backward. It was just a game of runs, and they (St. Charles) had bigger runs than we did tonight.”

Erika Wendling led Breckenridge with 27 points and has averaged 28 points per contest over the past six games. Laine Krueger added nine points for Breckenridge.